The Infamous Chevrolet Corvair

An Uphill Battle

Hailed as “car of the year” in 1960, condemned by Ralph Nader in 1965, and defunct by 1969, the Chevrolet Corvair was a popular vehicle line for several years despite some glaring engineering issues. 

Nader’s barbs ultimately doomed this classic car—even if its safety was vindicated later on. Did you ever drive in a Chevy Corvair?

A Big Market For A Small Space

The Chevrolet Corvair was a compact car that rose up in a market the Big Three automakers had abandoned in the 1950s. General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler (which included Chevrolet) had taken existing designs and scaled them up, but didn’t add smaller models to fill the gap. 

Soon, they were paying for it.

Greg Gjerdingen, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

The European Invasion

Unsurprisingly, foreign automakers were happy to step into the breach, with Volkswagen, Renault, and Fiat among the European carmakers happy to serve the American consumer looking for an additional car for their household or just wanting to stretch their dollar a bit further.

MercurySable99, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

Smaller Homegrown Players

And it wasn’t just the Europeans who saw an opening. The 1950 Nash Rambler picked up part of the compact-car market, with AMC pushing a new Rambler line after the company rose from the merger of Nash and Hudson in 1954. Studebaker’s Lark also got into the compact act.

Plenty of American automakers were making compacts—but when would the Big Three catch up?

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The Shrinking Machine

The Big Three soon wanted back into the compact market, but they took different routes to get there. Having scaled up their designs, Ford and Chrysler then scaled them back down—to about 80% of their current size. 

This wasn’t about innovation, but taking a low-risk, low-cost engineering approach. But one man had other ideas...

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Doing It Differently

Ed Cole, a major force behind the Corvette, had become head of GM’s Chevrolet division. An engineer at heart, he came up with some revolutionary features for the Corvair, including putting the engine in the back and air cooling it. This design was going to be innovative.

Eric Friedebach, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

A Box Of Innovations

Cole ordered a relatively boxy design with no tailfins, and because the motor was air-cooled, it didn’t need a radiator, and so didn’t need a chrome grill. That rear-mounted engine in turn used a compact transaxle to power the rear wheels, which were lower and wider than standard.

No one could say the Chevy Corvair was "low-risk, low-cost," that's for sure.

Stephen Foskett, CC BY-SA 2.5, Wikimedia Commons

Famous By Design

Time magazine celebrated the Corvair’s “fresh engineering” and Motor Trend named the line 1960’s “Car Of The Year”—and further recognition came when designer Bill Mitchell and his staff accepted the Industrial Designers Institute Award for the car’s first year on the market.

But there were some bumpy roads ahead for this innovative sports compact.

先従隗始, Wikimedia Commons

A Stylish Gas Guzzler

The Corvair's innovative, stylish design had some glitches. Fuel mileage was bad, in part because the gasoline heater used a quart of gas all on its own each hour. 

And crucially, a fan belt would sometimes slip loose, a big problem when the fan was the only thing keeping the engine cool.

Eric Friedebach, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

The Falcon And Comet Swoop In

Another big challenge came from the Ford Falcon and Mercury Comet, which soon battled the Corvair in the compact market. 

Ed Cole and his marketing team heavily promoted the Corvair’s innovations to set them apart—but those very innovations were a challenge for many American drivers.

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Trying To Gain Traction

Consumers were well aware of the immensely popular Volkswagen Beetle and its engine in the back, but the Corvair's engine was a whole different ball game. 

Such a powerful engine meant that, if you weren't careful, g-forces could easily push the limits of the Corvair's swing-axle design—especially in a station-wagon version that added weight at the back.

Stephen Foskett, CC BY-SA 2.5, Wikimedia Commons

Driving A Different Way

Even sedans without the weight issue challenged drivers to change their behavior. Around sharp corners the swing axle could bounce up, reducing tire contact with the road. And to make matters worse, management had rejected engineers’ desire to add a roll bar to the design for extra safety.

It wasn't long before they changed their tune.

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That Deflated Feeling

It turns out, drivers were often not careful in their Corvairs, and consumers started rolling them like crazy. Eventually a front-end anti-roll bar became an option, before getting added as standard for 1964 models. 

This proved a more effective engineering strategy than hoping drivers would read the owner’s manual, keep their front tires under-inflated, and drive sensibly.

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Accelerated Goal

The Corvair was initially fitted with an 80 hp Turbo-Air 6 engine paired with a three-speed manual transmission, or two-speed automatic transmission as an option. The goal had been to match the acceleration of the Chevrolet Biscayne, a full-sized, six-cylinder model.

Sfosketti, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

Transmission Received

Early in 1960, buyers were given the option of a more powerful 95 hp engine to be hooked up to any Corvair with a manual transmission, with a four-speed automatic transmission having to wait until the 1961 model year so engineers could solve an issue with gear shaft leaks.

Eric Friedebach, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Working Independently

Meanwhile, the Corvair's Quadri-Flex independent suspension worked with the engine, transmission, and rear axle working as a single unit, and took a page from the Europeans by putting coil springs on each wheel, with independent suspension arms placed in the rear.

AlfvanBeem, Wikimedia Commons

“The Poor Man’s Porsche”

Chevrolet soon realized that maybe the Corvair looked more upscale than they had anticipated. The Monza Club Coupe came out in the 1961 model year, with vinyl bucket seats and a stylish trim. Car magazines started talking about this fancier version as “the poor man’s Porsche”.

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Mustang In The Passing Lane

By 1963, 80% of Corvairs sold were Monzas, but the next year saw a dip in sales. Despite engineering and styling improvements, the basic design was looking outdated, including no option for a V8 engine. The arrival of the flashy Ford Mustang also cut into Corvair sales.

Lothar Spurzem, CC BY-SA 2.0 DE, Wikimedia Commons

A Speed Bump Approaches

The Mustang offered an eight-cylinder engine placed in a standard Ford Falcon chassis, which saved on manufacturing costs. Ford was delighted as customers switched from the Corvair to the Mustang—and then a consumer advocate’s condemnation of the Corvair sealed its fate.

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Unsafe Accusations

Ralph Nader’s book Unsafe At Any Speed took particular aim at GM, which had been sued over 100 times after Corvair crashes. Nader pointed to the model line’s suspension design—and the decision to save costs by omitting an anti-roll bar. 

The book really struck a chord, and Corvair sales fell about 50% the next year.

Thomas J. O'Halloran, Wikimedia Commons

Pushed To The Curb

The book dealt with first-generation Corvairs and lots of improvements had been made since then—but the uproar smeared the lineup and built support for new safety legislation. Vindication of sorts would come in safety tests in the early 1970s, but that was too late to save the Corvair.

dave_7, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

The Next Generation

Considering all that, it’s surprising that the second generation of the Corvair lasted as long as it did. In a major redesign, 1965 models sported a Fisher Z body, hardtop styling throughout the lineup, improved suspension, and (partway through the year) an optional 140 hp engine.

Crwpitman, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

A Dim Outlook

But after that initial makeover, the Corvair slowly faded into a kind of indifferent oblivion. Down from a peak of 336,000 in 1963, only 27,000 units were built in 1967. 

By then the company was looking more to promote the Corvette, Chevelle, and Nova than the troubled Corvair.

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Playing Hide And Seek

The innovative model stopped innovating, with changes mostly limited to safety modifications that were legally mandated. GM stopped advertising the lineup by 1968, and brochures on the models soon were available “by request only”. Only 6,000 of the 1969 models were produced.

Barnstarbob, CC BY-SA 3.0Wikimedia Commons

Covering All Bases

The Corvair had started ambitiously with models ranging from sedans to trucks. It was “almost a division within a division,” notes one collector, who adds that execs first saw the lineup as prosaic, not sporty—until the marketing department insisted on offering a manual transmission.

sv1ambo, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Monza In The Lead

The 500 and 700 Corvair sedans were introduced in October 1959, with coupes added in January 1960. But the arrival of the two-door Monza Club Coupe in April really caught the eye of carbuyers. Throughout the decade the Monza offered either the best trim or ranked just behind the Corsa.

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The Spyder And The Corsa

A “turbocharged” 150 hp engine was a Spyder option on the 1962 and 1963 Monza, then became its own model in 1964. In 1965, the Corsa was introduced with an optional upgrade to a 180 hp turbocharged flat-six engine, making the Corsa the sportiest of the sportier Corvairs.

SG2012, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Convertible Customers

Chevrolet added convertibles in 1962, which accounted for 20% of Monzas sold the next year. The Corvair station wagon was dropped as the company started steering customers preferring an economical car instead of a sporty look towards the more conventional Chevy II.

Valder137, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Rounding Out The Fleet

There were Lakewood station-wagon versions of the 500 or 700, and later a Monza wagon. There was also a Corvair van, naturally called the Corvan, and a van with windows called the Greenbrier. The Rampside pickup truck, as the name suggests, had a ramp on the side.

Greg Gjerdingen, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Trimmed Back

Despite good sales, Corvairs were costly to produce and facing competition from the Mustang. But GM didn’t want it to look like Nader and lawsuits had gotten the better of it, so a second generation of Corvairs featured safety improvements, in a lineup mostly of sedans and coupes.

But it was rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic.

dave_7, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Special Assembly

The demand for the final year’s models was so light that workers put together the final run of Corvairs in a special part of the Willow Run plant in Michigan, away from the assembly line. So the last vehicles were “hand built,” but mostly because their time had seemed to pass.

CapCase, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Sincere Imitation

However, if the Corvair went out with a whimper, it still came in with a bang. Its first few years caused a stir, with a high-flying wrap-around beltline that inspired BMW, Volkswagen, Fiat, and other automakers, along with showing that even small cars could pack some mean power.

Greg Gjerdingen, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Yenko Stinger Faces Down Mustangs

Modified Corvairs would also make their mark on the racing scene. Car dealer and racing-car driver Don Yenko overhauled 1966 and 1967 Corvairs to face Carroll Shelby Mustangs at SCCA races. Yenko yanked the back seat out of Corsas and added engines ranging up to 240 hp.

JOHN LLOYD, CC BY 2.0 Wikimedia Commons

Fitch Sprints Into The Race

John Fitch was another driver/inventor who turned to the Corvair, in his case the Sprint. Boosting the engine to 155 hp and upgrading the shock absorbers were among improvements that put his Fitch Sprint in the same competitive laneway as costlier European sports cars.

Mr.choppers, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

A Phoenix Almost Rises

Fitch also designed a prototype Fitch Phoenix, a two-seater looking somewhat like a cross between a Corvette and the Batmobile, with an engine putting out 175 hp. But plans to produce more of them were cut short by the cancellation of the Corvair lineup. In 2014, that one Fitch Phoenix prototype sold for $230,000.

Mr.choppers, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

As Seen On TV

Renowned customizer Gene Winfield put the Corvair motor into an aluminum car body to create the “Reactor,” which appeared in 1960s TV shows Star Trek, Batman, and Bewitched. His “Piranha,” using a special plastic and also featuring a Corvair motor, achieved TV fame as well. 

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Going Full Throttle

Dune buggies and off-road racing also found a use for the Corvair’s lightweight flat-six engines, an attractive alternative to Volkswagen’s engines. One early—and not particularly safe—design used a 1963 Spyder motor with a gas pedal that had two settings: off and full throttle.

dave_7, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Flying High

Lightweight Corvair motors also found their way into lightweight experimental aircraft from home-kit manufacturers such as Pietenpol, Zenith, and Sonex. William Wynne has been working for decades on powering hundreds of homebuilt airplanes with Corvair motors.

User:Ahunt, Wikimedia Commons

Still A Bargain

And what do collectors think? Prices are rising, but are still seen as a bargain. With the Corvair’s range of models, you can even skip the standard sedan and try a convertible, station wagon, or van—or spring for a sportier Spyder, with a manual transmission that actually sounds enticing.

Alf van Beem, Wikimedia Commons

A Compact Legacy

Changing tastes, some poor design choices, and a broad smear from a consumer advocate doomed the once-innovative lineup to snickers and disdain, even as competitors picked off its more enticing qualities—with collectors now coming to appreciate the Corvair’s finer qualities.

Mustang Joe, Wikimedia Commons